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SC police officer fired after pulling gun during traffic stop over seat belt violation

A police officer in Rock Hill, South Carolina, was fired after pulling a gun on a 22-year-old man during a traffic stop.

ROCK HILL, S.C. — A South Carolina police officer is out of a job after pulling his gun during a traffic stop -- for what was allegedly a seat belt violation.

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The 22-year-old man’s mother captured the incident on camera, saying she was glad to learn the Rock Hill police chief made the move to fire the officer. The incident happened May 17. By Wednesday, the officer had been dismissed.

Cameron Kirby was one of the most active members on the Rock Hill force, but sources said he is now out of a job.

The Rock Hill Police Department issued a statement confirming the incident, but did not name the officer or confirm the officer had been terminated.

The mother of the victim said Kirby pulled up into the driveway at their home after following her son for a short time. She said she believed she was watching the final moments of her son’s life.

“I had to keep calm, because I wanted to make sure my son was safe,” the woman said. “I was trying to talk to this cop … asking him what’s going on, is the gun necessary?”

Sources said Kirby called in and claimed the man was fighting and there was a crowd gathering. After the police department reviewed his body camera footage, Kirby was pulled off his beat and subsequently fired.

Civil rights leader John Barnette joined the man’s mother when she met with the chief about the incident.

“The video is so damaging that he needed to fire him immediately,” Barnette said. “This is the quickest I’ve ever seen it.”

The man was initially charged with disorderly conduct, but those charges have since been dropped.

While the man’s mother said she doesn’t harbor any ill will toward law enforcement in general, the incident still left she and her son traumatized.

“I never had a gun pointed at me, so to actually see that gun pointed at my son and in my direction, it has affected both of us,” she said.